Vending machine



May 13, 194,1.. L. STEINER 2,241,489

' VENDING MACHINE Filed June 2s, 1938 2 shets-shee'r 1 ATTORNEY May 13, 1941. l. STEINER VENDING MACHINE Filed June 28, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNvENToR 0l/IS STE/NER yATToRNEY` Patented May 13, 1941 UNITED rss PATENT. j ori-ice 9 Claims.

This invention relates to vending machines. It is particularly directed to vending machines having a plurality of .chutes to stock different brands of cigarettes or other merchandise. This application is a continuation inpart of applicants co-pending application Serial No. 112,011, led November 21st, 1936 for vending machines.

'It is well known that some brands of cigarettes sell more slowly than others. Vending machines for brands of cigarettes coming in packages of substantially the same dimension, have heretofore been provided with chutes of the same height, and of the same cross-sectional area, and in which the cigarettes of the various brands are stacked in the same way, usually lying flat on the front or rear faces. If the chutes containing the slow selling brands are lled, the cigarettes therein often become stale, and if these chutes are not filled, a waste of space results. If the chutes are disposed side by side, the machine is too wide, and if the chutes are placed one in back of the other, the machine is `too deep, since the machines usually also carry chutes for dispensing matches in back ofthe cigarette chutes. It is therefore an object of myinvention to overcome the above mentioned diliiculty in cigarette vending machines, by providingv the machine with wide and narrow chutes arranged in a row, the wider chutes for the faster sellingV brands receiving packages stacked therein, lyingA on their front and rear wide faces; and the narrow chutes for the slower selling brands receiving the packages stacked therein on their narrow side edges. With this construction more packages may be stacked in the wide chutes than in the narrow chutes. By arranging the wide andnarrow chutes in a row, side by side, the entire` machine may be reduced in width, while serving the same brands as in the wider machines, wherein all of the chutes are of the same horizontal crosssectional area, and in which the cigarettes are all stacked in the same way. l

A further object of this invention is to provide in a machine of the character described, having pull bars controlled by insertion of a coin or coins into the machine, for pushing cigarettes from the chute to a discharge chamber, and locking means, disposed between the bars, to prevent more than one bar from being pulledat one time, wide and narrowchutes for the fast and slow selling brands of `cigarettes, respectively, arranged alternately in a single row, whereby` the pull lbars may be centered with respect to the chutes, and yet be spaced equally apart one from the other, to accommodate said locking. means,

dispense a package of cigarettes.

Yrettes or other packages or articles.

and to lfacilitate `manipulation of the draw bars. Another object of this invention is to provide in a vending machine of the tc :loaracter described, highly improved locking means to prevent more than one draw bar from being pulled at a time to Yet another object of this invention is to provide a neat, compactand rugged vending machine of the character described, which shall be relatively inexpensive to manufacture., easy to operate, positive in action, and yet practical and efficient to a high degree in use.

, Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exempliiied in the i construction hereinafter described,

Yand of which thescope of application will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one of the various possible illustrative embodiments of this invention,

Y Fig. 1 is a front, elevational View of a vending machine embodying` the invention, withpart of the front wall broken away to show the interior construction;

Fig.' 2 isan enlarged, cross-sectional View taken yon line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is `a side, elevational view of. the improvide vending machine, with part of the side wall broken away to disclose the coin controlled mechanism;

ron .line 1 1 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a partial, top plan view of the pull bars and locking mechanism, with one of the pull bars vdrawn forwardly; and

Fig. 9 is a cross-'sectional'view taken on line Referring ,now in detail tothe drawings, I0 designates a ,vending machine embodying the invention, for vending various' brands of ciga- The same comprisesanouter casing. lea, having a rear wall I I, sidewalls I2, and a ,front wall i3. Wall I3 has an upper wall portion I4, and a lower wall portion' Iii.`V Wall' portion I5 is formed `with an elongated dischargeopening I6, and withjafhorzontal row of equally spaced vertical slots lia above said discharge opening.

Fixed Within the casing Ilia in any suitable manner, is a box or member I8 made of sheet metal, and having a bottom wall I9 disposed just below the discharge opening I6, a rear wall 20 disposed adjacent the rear wall II of the casing, side walls` 2l, parallel to the side walls I2 of the casing, and a front wall 22 disposed adjacent the front Wall I5 of the casing. Said front wall 22 is formed with an opening 23, substantially registering with the opening I6 in front wall I5.

Disposed within the bottom of the box I8 isa curved member 25, extending from the front edge of bottom wall I9, to the upper portion of rear wall 28, forming a dispensing chamber I.8a-for the purpose hereinafter appearing.

narrow widths so that the narrow chutes contain a lesser number of packages than the chutes of greater width.

With such construction, there is a greater choice in the number of cigarettes of each brand which may be stocked in the machine, while lling all of the chutes. Each chute can contain only one brand of cigarettes. If each wide chute 31 can contain ytwenty packages of cigarettes, and each narrow chute 38 can contain twelve packages of cigarettes, each brand may be stocked in multiples of twenty or multiples of twelve, up to the number of said chutes in the machine. Each brand may also be stocked in a number equal to any multiple of twenty (up to the number of .chutes 31 in the machine), plus any multiple of The front wall 22 has a top flange 2'1vexte'nding toward the rear Wall 20. Fixed to the flange 21 and the side walls 2I of the box I8, as by spot 4welding or in any other suitable manner, isY a member 28 having a horizontal wall 29 contacting said flange and extending rearwardly toward the rear wall 20. Extending downwardly from the horizontal wall 29, is a vertical Wall 38, from which there extends a forewardly and downwardly inclined wall 3I. Extending upwardly from 'the wall 29 is a vertical wall 32, substantially aligned with the front wall 22 of box I8. Wall 29 is formed with a plurality of parallel, equally spaced slots 34 extending from front to rear, for the purpose hereinafter appearing. The wall 32 is formed with a plurality of openings 33, aligned with the slots 34 in wall 29, rand registering with n the slots I5a in the front wall I5.

Mounted on the wall 29 is a row of vertical, alternatingly wide and narrow chutes 31 and 38, respectively, for cigarette packages 39 or the like prismatic packages or articles of similar size and of greater width than thickness.

As shown in the drawings, the chutes are of two kinds, to wit: wide chutes 31 and narrow chutes 38. 'I'he chutes are arranged side by side in a row, and. the narrow chutes alternate with have awidth somewhat greater than the thickness of the packages.

It will be noted that in the chutes 31, the packages are stacked flat on their wider front or rearfaces, with said front and rear faces in horizontal position. In the chutes 38, the packages are stacked on their side edges, with the narrow sides ofthe packages in horizontal position. Y

It is well known that some brands of cigarettes sell more slowly thanothers. chine in which slow selling brands are vended as well as fast selling brands, if the chutes were all of the same width and stacked full, all the chutes would have the same number of packages,

and thev chutescontaining the slow selling brands would not empty as. quickly as the chutes containing the fast selling brands, causing the slow selling brands of cigarettes to become stale. If the chutes with the slowselling brands were not In a vending malled,.awaste of space .wouldresulh This difficulty is overcome by providing chutes of wide and ,I2 (up to the number of chutes 38 in the machine). Thus, if one chute 31 is filled with a brand, there are twenty packages of said brand in the machine; if two such chutes are filled with one brand, forty packages, and so on'. If one chute 38 is stocked with a certain brand, there are twelve packages, two chutes 38, twenty-four packages, and so forth. Furthermore, one brand maybe stocked in one chute 31 and one chute 38, making a total of thirty-two packages, or two chutes 31 plus one chute 38, making fifty-two packages, or one chute 31 and two chutes 38, making forty-four packages, and so forth.

A wide range in the number of packages of any brand may thusbe stocked in the machine while filling each chute with one brand only. The machine having wide and narrow chutes is more compact and smaller in dimension and cheaper to construct. V It will be readily seen that if all of the chutes were ofthe width of chute 31,

the entire machine would have to be considerably wider. Y f

Means is provided for pushing the bottommost package in each chute out of the chute to the dispensing chamber I8a in box I8. To this end, the'rear walls of the chutes 31 are cut away at the bottom, as at 48, aty least to a height equal to the thickness of one of the packages 39. The rear walls of the chutes 38 are cut away at the bottom, asiat 4I, Vtoa height atleast equal to the width of one-ofthe packages 39.

Slidably mounted on the wall 29 of member 28, area plurality of parallel, horizontal drawbars 42, there 'being one bar for each chute, and saidbars being equally spaced apart and centrally located with respect toeach chute.

Each bar 42 has a straight horizontal portion 43 extending Vthrough one of the slots 3 3 and the slot I5ctregistering therewith. The lower edge o f portion 43 is disposed within one of the slots 34. Saidportion 43 has aiinger engaging portion 44Y at its frontend. YEach draw-bar 42 is provided adjacent its rear end with a thickened rear wall 46 and top wall 4 1.V The lower edge-of .wall 46 contacts theY Ytop'surf'ace'ovf wall 29 on opposite sides of the slot 34.v Extending downwardly Yfrom the rear end of the` bar 42 is a hook portion 48.,V Said portion 48 isthicker than por- "tion 43 and contacts the Vunderside of wall 29 on kopposite sides of the slot 34.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the lowermost pack- Vage39, normally rests on portion 41 Yof the bar. AInsuch position, the lowermost package is above the cut-out 40 or 4I, andfcannot fall or be pushed or pulled rearwardly out of the chute.

similar, aligned arcuate slots 5I having centers of Ycurvature at the axis of the shaft 56. Traversing the chamber I8 is a second shaft 52 having the ends thereof projecting within the slots 5|. Shafts 50 and 52 ar-e interconnected by links 52a. Mounted on the ends of shaft 50 are torsion springs 53, each having one arm engaging the front wall 22 of the box I6, and another arm engaging the shaft 52, to normally'move said shaft rearwardly to the rear ends of the slots 5|. The hook portions 48 of the draw-bars 42 are adapted to engage the shaft 52, so that upon pulling any of the draw-bars forwardly, the shaft 52 is moved forwardly and somewhat upwardly, being guided by the slots 5|. l

` When a draw-bar is pulled to its forwardmost position, the packages in the chute associated therewith will drop onto wall 29.

registering openings. I6 and 23; into chamber i3d, to take out the package.

Means is provided to cover the cut-out openings 40 and 4| so that a person cannot obtain a package by inserting his hand through the chamber |8a. To thisend, there is fixed tothe side walls 2| of the box I8, a horizontal shaftl 55, disposed adjacent the rear walls of the chutes and above the cut-outs 46, 4|. Pivoted to the shaft 56 is a plate 51 adapted to cover said cut-outs.

Fixed to the ends of shaft 5E are links 58, interconnected by links 56 to the shaft 52. When no draw-bar is pulled-out, and the shaft 52 is in its rearmost position, links 58 lift the plate 51 to uncover the cut-outs 46, 4|. Since no package is entirely below said cut-outs, when the draw-bars are `in normal position, no package can Ibe removed through the chamber |8a. When Va draw-bar is pulled forwardly, however, to permit the packages in the chute to dropl to wall 26, the shaft 52 is pulled forwardly to pull=w down onthe links 59, which in turn, pulls down on the links 56 to lower the plate 5l into position covering the cut-outs 40, 4|. When the draw-bar is released to push a package of cigarettes out of its chute, the plate 51 is again lifted to rpermit the package to be pushed rearwardly onto the curved wall 25. y

Means isrprovided to prevent more than one bar. at a time from beingpulled forwardly. To

this end, there is dispos-ed on opposite sides of` each draw-bar, a flat, horizontal, locking plate 62, pivoted at its rear end to the wall 29, by a vertical pivot t3. The forward ends of each plate 62 may be supported by a flange 64, struck from wall 29, and disposed parallel to and below said wall 29.

Looking at Fig. 2, it will be seen that all of plates 62 are similar and that there is one locking plate rbetween each pair of adjacent draw-bars t2, and a locking plate ony the outer side of each of the end draw-bars. When no draw-bar is pulled forwardly, the locking plates have a slight pivotal movement about their pivot pins 63.

However, when any draw-bar is pulled forwardly,` ,the hook portion 48 thereof moves between the adjacent edges 61 of af pair of adjacent locking plates, moving all the otherlocking plates into contact, so as to prevent any other draw-bar from being'pu'lled forwardly until the first drawbar is released.`

By alternating the wide and narrow chutes 31 and 38, the draw-bars 42 may be centered with respect to the chutes, and yet be equally spaced one from the other. With such construction,

furthermore, the locking plates G2 may be of similar dimension.

VAny suitable coin controlled means may be provided for controlling the draw-bars 42, such for example, as is illustrated in my Patent No. 2,083,928 issued on the 15th day of June, 1937. The coin controlled means may operate with any number of coins.

For the purpose of illustration, there are shown in the drawings, coin controlled means operated by a single coin. To this end, there is fixed to rvone of the side walls 2|, a plate 10, disposed in a vertical plane and having bosses 1| in the corners thereof contacting said side wall. Said plate is fixed to the side wall 2| by screws 12 passing through said bosses. Plate 10 is formed on the outer face thereof with a longitudinal, -horizontal through slot 1|a. Said plate 1|) is furthermore formed with a horizontal slot 13, registering with said slot 1|a. The adjacent side wall 2| is formed with a slot 2 la registering with slot 13. Y i

Slidably mounted in the slot 1|a is a slide plate 15. Fixed to the front face of plate 10 are a pair of vertical bars 16a to hold the plate 15 within the slot 1|a. Fixed to the front end of the plate 15 is a stud shaft 16, projecting through slots 13 and 2|a. Pivotally connected, as at 18, to the link 52a, is a link B6, formed at one end with a sleeve 8| passing through slots 13, 2 la and rotatably receiving the stud shaft 16.

It will now be understood that whenany drawbar is pulled forwardly, the slide plate 15 will be pulled forwardly therewith, if a coin is inserted, as will be explained hereinafter.

Extending upwardly from the plate 16 is a coin chute 10b of any suitable construction, terminating at the front of the machine where a coin can be inserted. Plate 10is formed with a vertical slot 15e at the lower end of the chute 15h and disposed above the slot 1|a. Said plate 1U is furthermore formed with a vertical slot 10d in the same plane as the slot 16e, but located forwardly of said slot.

The plate 15 is formed with a horizontal through slot 83. The forward end of the slot 83 is widened or extended downwardly, as at 84, forminga ledge or edge 85, for the purpose hereinafter appearing. Said plate 15'is furthermore formed with aligned, vertical slots 81 and 88, communi- Aeating with the horizontal slot 83. In the `rear position of the slide plate 15, the slots 81 and 88 are aligned with the slot 16e, so that a coin inserted into the chute 10b will drop down through the slot 10c, 81, pass the slot 83, and fall into the slot 88. Insuch position, the top of the coin will be ysubstantially tangent to the main portion of the Vslot 83, and covering theledge or shoulder 85.4

Pivoted at one end to one bar 10a is a lever 96. Said lever is connected at its opposite end by a spring 9| to the other bar 16a. Spring 9| tends to pull the lever S6 downwardly. The lever 95 has a projection 92 extending into the slot portion 84, at the level of the shoulder 85. `In such position, no bar can be pulled forwardly if a coin has not been inserted into the coin chute, because rthe slide 15 cannot be pulled 'forwardlydue to engagement of theshoulder 85 with the projection 92 of lever90.

However, when a coin is inserted into the coin chute 10b, and drops to the slot 88, the forward portion of the coin provides a ramp to engage the projection 92, to lift the lever as a draw-bar is pulled, and permit the slide to be moved forwardly; As the' slide is pulled forwardly, the coin drops through the slot 10d to anysuitable coin box. Upon release of the draw-bar a package is ejected. Y

Y Although the machine has been described as a cigarette vending machine, it will be understood that packages or articles other than packages of cigarettes, may be vended therewith.

Between the row of chutes 31, 38 and the rear wall of the casing-are chutes containing matches, and provided with any suitable means (not shown), such as shown in my Patent No. 2,076,750, issued April 13, 1937, to dispense the same.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this inven- ,tion are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1.5In a machine for vending similar prismatic packages of greater width than thickness, a row of vertical wide and narrow, contacting chutes adapted to stock said packages, said chutes being of samedepth from front to rear, and open at the front, the wide chutes being somewhat wider than the packages and adapted to containthe packages stacked therein with thewide front and rear faces in horizontal position and with the top and bottom ends of the Vpackages atV the front and rear of the chutes, the narrow chutes being of nsomewhat greater width than the thickness of the packagesand adapted to contain the packages `stacked therein with the narrow side' faces therev of in horizontal position, the top and bottom ends of the packages at the front and rear of the chutes, said narrow chutes alternating with the l'wide chutes, and means to dispense packages from said chutes, comprising a draw-bar mounted Afor horizontal sliding movement at the lower end Vplurality of parallel spaced slots centered with respect to said chutes, there being one slot for each chute, a plurality of parallel draw bars slidably mounted on said horizontal wall and having portions extending through said slots, said bars extending longitudinally of said slots, each bar projecting into the lower vend ofj one of said chutes, Va shaft mountedV withinsaid casing and `disposed parallel.V to said horizontal wall and therebelow, each-of said draw bars having a'hookl portion disposed below said horizontal wall, to engage said shaftforpulling saidV shaft forwardly upon drawingV any ofV said draw bars forwardly, and spring means to move said shaft rearwardly to retract any draw bar whichV is pulledforwardly. ,f

3. In a vending machine, a casing, a box with- .in said casing 'having side walls, and a horizontal wall, a row of vertical aligned chutes extending upwardly from said horizontal wall, said horizontal wall being formed with a plurality of parallel spaced slots centered with respect to said chutes, there being one slotfor each chute, a plurality of parallel draw bars slidably mounted on said horizontal wall and having portions extending through said slots, said bars extending longitudinally of said slots, each bar projecting into the `lower end of one of said chutes, a horizontal shaft mounted on the side walls of said box, a second shaft within said box connected to said first shaft and disposed parallel thereto, means connecting the second shaft to the first shaft to pivotally mount the second shaft for rotation about the axis of the first shaft, each of said draw bars having a hook portion disposed below said horizontal wall, toengage said second shaft for pulling said second shaft forwardly upon drawing any of said draw bars forwardly, and spring means to move said second shaft rearwardly to retract any draw bar which is pulled forwardly, the lower ends of the rear walls of said chutes having cut-away portions, a plate within said box, hinged about a horizontal axis and adapted to cover said cut-away portions when said plate is in vertical position, links interconnecting said second shaft withsaid plate, said links normally holding said plate in lifted position, and being adapted to pull the plate down to vertical position against the rear walls of said chutes, upon pulling any draw bar forwardly, to cover said cut-away portions.

4. In a vending machine, a horizontal wall, a plurality of vertical chutes extending upwardly from said wall, said horizontal wall being formed vwith a plurality of parallel spaced slots, there being one slot aligned with each chute, a plurality of parallel draw bars slidably mounted on said horizontal wall` and having portions extending through said slots, and below said wall, said bars extending longitudinally of said slots, each bar having a portion projecting into the lower end of one of said chutes, a horizontal bar mounted within the machine and below said wall, each of said draw bars having a hook portion disposed below said horizontal wall adapted to engage said horizontal bar for pulling said horizontal bar forwardly upon drawing any of said draw bars forwardly, and releasable means to lock said horizontal bar against forward movement.

5.'In a machine for vending prismatic packages of the same size and of greater width than thickness, a row of vertical alternating wide and narrow chutes of equal height and depth to contain said packages, the wide chutes being of a width to accommodate the packages stacked therein lying flat on their front or rear wide faces, with the upper and lower ends of the packages at the front or rear of the chutes, and the narrow chutes between said wide chutes, being of a width to accommodate the packages stacked therein on their narrow side edges with the front and rear ends Yof the packages at the front and rear of said chutes, means to dispense the packages from said chutes, comprising parallel draw-bars centered relative to said chutes, means for mountwidth, and all of said wide chutes being of substantially similar width.

6. In a machine for vending similar prismatic packages of greater width than thickness, a row of vertical wide and narrow, contacting chutes of fixed width, adapted to stock said packages, said chutes being of same depth from front to rear, the wide chutes being somewhat wider than the packages and adapted to contain the packages stacked therein with the wide front and rear faces in horizontal position and with the top and bottom ends ofthe packages at the front and rear of the chutes, the narrow chutes being of somewhat greater width than the thickness of the packages and adapted to contain the packages stacked therein with the narrow side faces thereof in horizontal position, and the top and bottom ends of the packages at the front and rear of the chutes, said narrow chutes alternating with the wide chutes, means to dispense packages from said chutes, comprising a draw-bar mounted for horizontal sliding movement at the lower end of each chute, perpendicularly to the plane of the row of chutes, the rear ends of said bars projecting into said chutes. said draw-bars being centered relative to said chutes and equally spaced apart one from another, each bar being adapted to be pulled forwardly to permit the lowermost package in the corresponding chute to drop into its path, means at the lower ends of the chutes to hold the lowermcst packages in the path of the draw-bars, spring means to return the bar to its normal position to push the lowermost package in the chute rearwardly out of said chute.

'7. In a vending machine, a casing, a horizontal wall in said casing, a row ofvertical alternatingly wide and narrow contacting chutes of fixed width, extending upwardly from said horizontal wall, said horizontal wall being formed with a plurality of parallel spaced slots centered with respect to said chutes, there being one slot for each chute, a plurality of parallel draw-bars slidably mounted on said horizontal wall and having portions extending through said slots, said bars extending longitudinally of said slots, each bar projecting into the lower end of one of said chutes, a shaft within said casing disposed parallel to said horizontal wall and therebelow, each of said draw-bars having a hook portion disposed below said horizontal wall to engage said shaft for pulling said shaft, upon drawing in of the draw-bars forwardly, and means to move said shaft rearwardly to retract any draw-bar which is pulled forwardly, all of said narrow chutes being of substantially similar width, and all of said wide chutes being of substantially similar width, whereby said draw-bars are equally spaced apart.

8. In a vending machine, a casing, a box within said casing having side walls, and a horizontal wall, a row of vertical aligned chutes extending upwardly from said horizontal wall, said horizontal wall being formed with a plurality of parallel spaced slots centered with respect to said chutes, there being one slot for each chute, a plurality of parallel draw-bars slidably mounted on said horizontal wall and having portions extending through said slots, said bars extending longitudinally of said slots, each bar projecting into the lower end of one of said chutes, a horizontal shaft mounted on the side walls of said box, a second shaft within said box connected to said first shaft and disposed parallel thereto, means connec-ting the second shaft to the first shaft to pivotally mount the second shaft for rotation about the axis of the rst shaft, each of said draw-bars having a hook portion disposed below said horizontal wall, to engage said second shaft for pulling said second shaft forwardly upon drawing any of said draw-bars forwardly, and spring mea-osito move said second shaft rearwardly to retract any draw-bar which is pulled forwardly. 9. In a vending machine, a horizontal wall, a plurality of vertical chutes extending upwardly from said wall, said horizontal wall being formed with a plurality of parallel spaced slots, there being one slot aligned with each chute, a plurality of parallel draw-bars slidably mounted on said horizontal wall and having portions extending through said slots, and below said wall, said bars extending longitudinally of said slots, each bar having a portion projecting into the lower end of one of said chutes, a horizontal bar within the machine and below said wall, each of said draw-bars having a hook portion disposed below said horizontal wall adapted to engage said horizontal bar for pulling said horizontal bar forwardly upon drawing any of said draw-bars forwardly, and releasable means to lodk said horizontal bar against forward movement, said vertical chutes being alternatingly wide and narrow and of fixed width and contiguous, all of the wide chutes being substantially of equal width, and all of the narrow chutes being substantially of equal width, and said draw-bars being centered with respect to the chutes, whereby said drawbars are equally spaced apart.

LOUIS STEINER. 

